Entrepreneur provides training sessions on livestream e-commerce for over 100 farmers

Gu Weijun, an entrepreneur and a livestream e-commerce instructor, held a livestream e-commerce training class to over 10 trainees in Youqiao village, Nanhu district, Jiaxing city, east China's Zhejiang Province.

After a 20-minute simulated livestream session, Gu provided examples and detailed instructions on various aspects of livestreams, including interactive skills. His vivid presentation kept the trainees engaged.

The training model is the result of Gu's own practical experience and the township's training program.

Gu Weijun (right) imparts livestream e-commerce knowledge to farmers in Daqiao township, Nanhu district, Jiaxing city, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo/Wu Yuliang)

Gu runs a family farm and a livestream studio on the opposite side of the tourist service center of Youqiao village. He also edits videos and posts them online.

"The site is provided by the village. I invested nearly 50,000 yuan ($6,888) to buy equipment," Gu said, adding that nearby farmers can use the studio without charge.

Gu quit his job in a city and returned to his hometown to establish a family farm in 2015. Thanks to his work experience in the e-commerce sector, he was the first to run an online shop in the village.

When Gu heard the news that the township began organizing an e-commerce talent incubation program for agricultural and sideline products, featuring courses on shooting short videos, and livestream promotion skills, he immediately signed up.

While continuing to participate in training sessions, Gu gained practical experience by holding livestream sessions.

As a pioneer in livestream e-commerce in the village, Gu shares his knowledge with fellow villagers. In early 2023, he became a livestream e-commerce instructor in the township, and has offered training to over 100 farmers.

Deng Meilin, born after 1995, attended a class given by Gu last year and began to advertise agricultural products through livestreams later, leading to better sales.

"In the past, we only held livestreams to sell products. But now we also hope to boost the development of rural tourism through livestreams," Gu said.

Inspired by Gu, Deng tried to organize group buying on a short video platform and encourage users to participate in grape-picking activities in the thriving grape-picking business.

During this year's three-day Duanwu Festival, the daily average of tourist visits to the village exceeded 500.

"Through livestream sessions, more and more customers are becoming tourists, and rural tourism is thriving in our village," said Wei Liang, Party chief of Youqiao village.

Since 2018, Nanhu district has offered 103 training sessions related to livestream e-commerce, attracting over 3,600 participants. Since the beginning of this year, the district's rural online retail sales have reached approximately 89 million yuan, up 11.4 percent year on year.

In recent years, the rapid development of livestream e-commerce in China's rural areas has unleashed the consumption potential of rural areas. In 2023, the country's rural online retail sales reached 2.49 trillion yuan, and the online retail sales of agricultural products rose to 590 billion yuan, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

China plans to cultivate about 100 "frontrunner" counties for rural e-commerce, build around 1,000 county-level livestream e-commerce bases, and nurture about 10,000 individuals who will play a leading role in rural e-commerce in five years, said a document issued by the ministry and other eight departments in March this year.